The Justice

Media Credit: David Sheppard-Brick

The men's tennis team only managed a last-place finish at the University Athletic Association Championships, even as Simon Miller '11 managed to win all three of his singles matches. For Miller, the three victories were the end of a true comeback, as he had taken a leave from the team in the fall semester.

"I guess I kind of lost sight of things in the fall," Miller said. "I maybe forgot why I love to play the game so much. ... I had to decide if tennis is what I really wanted."

As a rookie last year, Miller quickly assumed the role as the team's top singles player and played in all but four matches at the No. 1 slot, missing three matches with an ankle injury and playing one match at No. 2 singles immediately after recovering from the injury. Miller was 6-8 at No. 1 singles and 1-0 in his only match at No. 2 singles.

After taking a leave from the team, Miller returned but struggled at the No. 1 slot, going 0-4 against top players from opposing schools. However, Miller thrived at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles slots, going 3-1 at No. 2 and 7-3 at No. 3.

Miller said the time he took off has helped him get back on the right track.

"Taking the break helped a lot," he said. "It helped me to realize how much I love the game and helped me realize how much I want to work at being the best player I can."

Last weekend, the Judges opened UAA play with an 8-1 loss to Washington University in St. Louis, with Miller's 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles earning the Judges' only point. Then, despite a 5-4 loss against New York University, Miller anchored the Judges' No. 1 doubles squad with captain Scott Schulman '09, winning 8-2, and again took his No. 3 singles match 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Finally, Miller again won both his singles and doubles matches against the University of Rochester to finish the weekend as the only Brandeis player to win all three of his singles matches.

Because of the time off, Miller said he felt he was finally coming into his own as the season ended.

"I wish we had a few more matches, maybe even another UAA tournament would be nice," he said. "But I definitely got some momentum coming in for next season."

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